Pilgrim nuclear power plant news

All across the country, nuclear power plants struggle to stay profitable. Nuclear energy is currently the largest source of low-carbon power in America, but due to recent advances in natural gas extraction and renewable energy technologies and a reduction of nuclear energy-related subsidies in favor of renewables, many nuclear plants have become uncompetitive. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) projects that more than 33 percent of existing plants, representing 22 percent of total U.S. nuclear capacity, are currently unprofitable or scheduled to close. Four of these retiring plants, located in Ohio and Pennsylvania, operate in the mid-Atlantic energy market, which covers around 65 million Americans. Vox’s David Roberts found the loss of just those four plants would result in 40 terawatt hours of carbon-neutral energy vanishing annually— an amount equivalent to the energy being produced by the entirety of the mid-Atlantic energy market’s wind and solar sector. … [Read more...] about Brown: Nuclear Energy Might Be the Answer to Climate Challenges

Visit The Boston Globe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Comment on this Scroll to top of page David Abel Globe Staff October 25, 2018 Officials at the company that owns Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station announced plans Thursday to move the plant’s nuclear waste to higher ground in the coming years. The decision, which residents and local activists have long urged, seeks to protect the radioactive fuel against the threat of rising seas. Entergy Corp. currently has 17 massive steel-reinforced concrete cylinders filled with the radioactive waste on a concrete pad perched about 25 feet above Plymouth Bay and little more than 200 feet from the shoreline. Advertisement The new plan, which officials said would be completed by 2022, would move those containers, known as dry casks, to a new pad on an existing parking lot that is about 75 feet above mean sea level and 700 feet from the shore. Get Metro Headlines in your inbox: The 10 top local news stories … [Read more...] about Pilgrim nuclear plant to move waste to higher ground

Visit The Boston Globe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Comment on this Scroll to top of page John R. Ellement Globe Staff August 01, 2018 The owner of the Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Plymouth has agreed to hand over the plant, its license, and responsibility for disposing of spent nuclear fuel to an international company which promises to complete decommissioning three years faster than currently projected.Entergy, the current owner of Pilgrim, and Holtec International announced the agreement Wednesday morning in a joint statement. Holtec will receive the assets of the Piligrim facility and that of Entergy’s Palisades Power Plant in Covert, Mich., under the arrangement, the companies said.Entergy said Pilgrim will continue to operate as an electrical generator into 2019 and then step aside by 2020 to allow Holtec to take over decommissioning of the plant, a process that is expected to take eight years to complete. Advertisement “We … [Read more...] about Decommissioning of Pilgrim nuclear power plant being transferred to Holtec International

Visit The Boston Globe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Comment on this Scroll to top of page David Abel Globe Staff April 25, 2018 Massachusetts Senator Edward J. Markey is calling on the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure that the spent fuel at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station and other nuclear plants around the country is safely protected from rising seas. In a letter sent Monday to the commission’s chairman, Markey expressed “serious concerns” about the plant’s plans to store the radioactive material in more than 60 large cylinders called dry casks, eight of which are just 200 feet from the shoreline at an elevation of about 25 feet above Plymouth Bay.“As plants like Pilgrim shutter across the nation and plan to store spent nuclear fuel on site for years — even decades — to come, it is imperative that these plants and the NRC regulations fully consider the impacts of climate change on dangerous nuclear … [Read more...] about Sen. Markey calls on nuclear regulators to protect plants against rising seas

Visit The Boston Globe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Comment on this Scroll to top of page David Abel Globe Staff April 20, 2018 On a concrete pad about 25 feet above Plymouth Bay, eight massive steel-reinforced concrete cylinders hold the remains of the radioactive fuel that has kept the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station running since the 1970s. When the plant begins decommissioning next year, Pilgrim officials expect to fill another 54 of the so-called dry casks, which are 18 feet tall, weigh 360,000 pounds, and emit small amounts of radiation. The concrete pad is a little more than 200 feet from the shoreline. The problem is where to store the nuclear waste — especially since its current location won’t stay 25 feet above Plymouth Bay for long. Advertisement As sea levels rise at an accelerating rate, increasing the threat that an extreme storm surge could flood the coastal facility, Pilgrim officials are considering whether to move the … [Read more...] about As seas rise, Pilgrim mulls moving its nuclear waste to higher ground